Method for producing wall units



sePt- 6, 1966 R. M. EEEEEEEEEEEEEE AL 3,271,497

United States Patent O 3,271,497 METHOD FOR PRODU'CING WALL UNllTS Reinhold Magnus Elgeustierna, Engelbrektsgatan 29, and George Ohlson, Frejgatan 20, both of Stockholm, Sweden Filed Apr. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 188,702 Claims priority, application Sweden, Apr. 19, 1961, 4,113/ 61 4 Claiuns. (Cl. 264-253) It has been suggested to provide ready-to-erect wall units coinprising three layers, namely an outer or facade layer of stonework or the like, an inner layer or supporting body respectively spaced from said facade layer and likewise being in the form of stonework or the like, and an intermediate insulating layer, all of said three layers being connected with each other by means of reinforcing connecting members such as reinforcing ladders to form a cooperating supporting and heat insulating unit having a ready made facade.

A simple method of making such wall unit comprises the use of a horizontal forming box or jig in which the building stones forming the facade layer are laid onto a supporting bed and joined to courses or wall bonds. The insulating layer is then laid onto said facade layer and onto the top of this layer the third or inner layer is laid which preferably also comprises building stones joined in courses. The building stones of the facade layer as well as the inner layer preferably consist of bricks. A condition for this manufacture is, however, that the insulating layer comprises a material of relative high stilfness in order to prevent deformation or compression of the same when during the manufacture it is subjected to the load from the building stones of the third or inner layer which preferably serves as a supporting layer. An insulating material of such a desired stifiness has in itself the disad- Vantage to be considerably more expensive than soft and so-called semirigid sheets of mineral wool or like insulating material. On the other hand, however, it is in practice not successfully possible in the manufacture of the wall unit to lay out the top layer of bricks onto an insulating sheet of a soft or semisoft type without causing a considerable compression of the insulating sheet. Moreove-r, the bricks of said top layer will not be firmly held whereby the necessary precision of the manufacture of the wall units may be impaired. It is, however, desirable that said bricks lie closely against the insulating sheet in order to prevent mortar introduced into the joints from flowing out between said joints and being forced in between the bricks and the insulating layer.

The present invention relates to a method which overcomes said difficulty while still allowing the use of cheap and soft or semirigid insulating sheets. According to the invention one or several supporting members for instance in the form of bars carried by a box or jig are pushed through the insulating sheet close to its top surface in order to carry the main weight of said top or inner when said layer is being laid, so as to prevent compression of said insulating layer. T'he supporting members are preferably removed after the inner layer is ready in the form of a complete slab. Depending on the nature of the supporting members they may possibly, in certain instances, remain in the finished wall unit. According t-o one embodirnent the forming box or jig is provided With openings in two opposite sides, preferably the longer sides, to allow insertion of the supporting members which preferably have a sharp point at -one end. Thus, the supporting members in the first instance Will be carried by said sides of the box or jig. Moreover, the aforesaid connecting members constructed as reinforcing ladders and extending between the outer and the inner layer may be arranged in 3,27l,497 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 ICC such a position with respect to their height that supporting means provided on said ladders also will form an intermediate support for the supporting members penetrating said insu'lating slab or sheet. The span of said supporting members is thereby red-uced to such a small dimension that even supporting members having very slight dimensions may carry the weight of the layer, for instance a brick layer, applied to the insulating sheet without appreciable deformation.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in perspective view on the accompanyin'g drawing.

The single figure of the drawing is a view in perspective of a forming box-like jig with a wall unit therein, portions of the jig and of the wall unit being broken away for clarity of illustration.

The opposite longer wal-ls 2 of the forming box 1 have a number of openings 3 formed therein through which supporting bars 4 may be loosely inserted. On the bottom of the box the building stones 5 forming the facade layer are laid and joined into courses by means of mortar placed between the stones 5 and also to overlie the rear surfaces of the stones as a 'layer 5a. The connecting members in the form of reinforcing ladders are then inserted into channels or grooves in said layer. Such |ladders consist of vertically spaced parallel longitudinally extending upper and lower bars 6a and 10a and supports 6 and 10 therefor, the bottoms or feet of the supports 6 and 10 being received in the grooves in bricks 5. Insulating material in the form of sheets 7 is then applied to said facade layer 5. Before the third (inner) layer of the wall unit to be produced is applied to the insulating s'heets the supporting bars 4 are inserted and pushed through the insulating sheets close to their -top surface and between bars 6a and 10a. The bars 4 are caused to rest against supporting bars 6a on their reinforcing ladders so as to form a good reinforcement taking up the weight of said third or inner layer which now is applied in the form of building stones 8 which are joined by means of mortar 8a to form a wall bond. Thereafter a top layer 9, for instance of gypsum may be applied. On completon of the layer 8 and hardening of the joints the supporting bars 4 are removed.

The supporting bars 4 are arranged so closely that the bricks or building stones of the third or inner layer 8 will be carried by said supporting bars with only a thin intermediate layer of the insulating sheet 7 which will cover the supporting bars inserted through the insulating sheet.

After withdrawal of the supporting bars from the box 1 t'hey may be used again in the same manner for the production of new wall units in the same box or jig. Thus, said supporting bars only serve as auxiliary means in the production of wall units without forming an integral part therewith even if also the latter modification may be possible.

An important advantage with the present invention resides in the fact that supporting members facilitate stiffening of the insulatin'g layer thus rendering possible the use of soft or semirigid insulating material -of cheap quality, said supporting 'members carrying a top` layer of building stones with as small as possible defonmation of the insulating layer, and on the other hand the supporting 'members are stil'l separated from said top layer by a thin layer of insulating 'material which prevents the mortar from fiowing out.

Without departing from the scope of the invention the supporting members may With a very small deformation carry a wall layer of another material than building stones such as moulded concrete or the like applied to the soft insu'lating layer.

The facade layer may be made separately and then inserted into the bottom of the forming box,

What we claim is:

1. In a method of producing ready-to-erect Wall units in a trnainly horizontal position in a f-orming box-like jig having opposed sides, said wall units comprisin'g at least three layers including a facade layer made of bricks, an inner 'layer spaced from said facade layer, means intermediate said facade layer and said inner layer securing them in spaced relation, and an intermediate layer of insulating material compressible by the weight of said inner layer, said method including applying said facade layer to the bottom of said jig, then applyin'g the layer Iof insulating material to the upper surface of said facade layer, and then laying the inner layer onto said insulating layer, the improvement which comprises installing supporting means in the form of substantia'lly horizontal supporting bars carried by the jig after the installation of the intermediate layer and before the application of said inner layer by pushing the bars through the intermediate insulating layer at a small distance from the top surface thereof and connecting the outer ends of the bars to opposite sides of the jig, said supporting means, during the application of 'said inner layer upon said insulating layer, carrying at least a major part of the weight of said inner layer until the inner layer has been assembled and has set, Whereby to prevent substantial compression of said intermediate insulating layer.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising withdrawing said supporting means from said insulating layer after said inner layer has been assembled and has set in the form of a complete slab.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising inserting said supporting means through openings arranzged in two opposite Vertical sides of said forming jig to cause said sides substantially to carry said supporting means.

4. In a method of producing ready-to-erect Wall units in a mainly horizontal position in a forming box-like jig having opposed sides, said wall units comprising at least three layers including a facade layer made of bricks, an inner layer spaced from said facade layer by means of reinforcing connecting means connecting the facade and inner layers, and an intermediate layer of insulating sheet material compressible by the weight of said inner layer, said method comprising applying said facade layer to the bottom of said jig, then installing the reinforcing connecting means on top of said facade layer, then applying the 'layer of insulating sheet material to the upper surface of said faeade layer, then installing supporting means in the form of supporting bars or the like by pushing the bars `or the like through the intermediate insulating layer so that they rest upon said reinforcing connecting means and connecting the ends of the bars to opposite sides of the jig, then applying said inner layer upon said insulating layer so that said supportintg means carres at least a major part of the weight of said inner layer until the inner layer has been ass-embled and has set w'hereby substantia'l compression of said intermediate insulating layer is prevented, and then withdrawing said supporting means from said insulating layer after said inner layer has been assembled and has set in the form of a complete slab.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 954,830 4/1910 Underwood. 1,700,512 l/ 1929 Pedersen 264-253 1,809,504 6/1931 Carvel. 2,017,587 10/1935 Dennis. 2,3 05,684 12/ 1942 Foster. 2,457,982 l/1949 Deichmann. 2,901,807 9/1959 Helmenson.

F OREIGN PATENTS 469,822 12/ 1950 Canada.

ROBERT F. WHITE, Primary Examner.

ALEXANDER H. BRODMERKEL, Examiner.

R. B. MOFFITT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A METHOD OF PRODUCING READY-TO-ERECT WALL UNITS IN A MAINLY HORIZONTAL POSITION IN A FORMING BOX-LIKE JIG HAVING OPPOSED SIDES, SAID WALL UNITS COMPRISING AT LEAST THREE LAYERS INCLUDING A FACADE LAYER, MADE OF BRICKS, AN INNER LAYER SPACED FROM SAID FACADE LAYER, MEANS INN TERMEDIATE SAID FACADE LAYER AND SAID INNER LAYER SECURING THEM IN SPACED RELATION, AND AN INTERMEDIATE LAYER OF INSULATING MATERIAL COMPLESSIBLE BY THHE WEIGHT OF SAID INNER LAYER, SAID METHOD INCLUDING APPLYING SAID FACADE LAYER TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID JIG, THEN APPLYING THE LAYER OF INSULATING MATERIAL TO H UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FACADE LAYER, AND THEN LAYING THE INNER LAYER ONTO SAID INSULATING LAYER, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES INSTALLING SUPPORTING MEANS IN THE FORM OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL SUPPORTION BARS CARRIED BY THE JIG AFTER THE INSTALLATION OF THE INTERMEDIATE LAYER AND BEFORE THE APPLICATION OF SAID INNER LAYER BY PUSHING THE BARS THROUGH THE INTERMEDIATE INSULATING LAYER AT A SMALL DISTANCE FROM THE TOP SURFACE THEREOF AND CONNECTING THE OUTER ENDS OF THE BARS TO OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE JIG, SAID SUPPORTING MEANS, DURING THE APPLICATION OF SAID INNER LAYER UPON SAID INSULATING LAYER, CARRYING AT LEAST A MAJOR PART OF THE WEIGHT OF SAID INNER LAYER UNTIL THE INNER LAYER HAS BEEN ASSEMBLED AND HAS SET, WHEREBY TO PREVENT SUBSTANTIAL COMPRESSION OF SAID INTERMEDIATE INSULATING LAYER. 